Work/life balance for the win! The power of Simone Biles

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• SVR Startup Workshop - Ask an Investor at Circuit Launch August 12th 4pm-5pm (online 5pm-6pm)

• DIY Robocars / Brazilian BBQ at Circuit Launch August 14th from 10am-3pm

• Online Robotics Job Fair Wednesday August 18th at 7pm

• Startup Funding Seminar with PropelX Thursday August 19th at 2pm (TIME STILL TBD)

• Society, Robots and Us: Funding Inclusive Robotics Tuesday August 24th at 6pm

• Construction Robotics Forum Members: Pittsburgh Robotics Network is hosting a panel on "How Robotics is Transforming the Construction Industry" on August 25th at 12pm EDT or 9am PDT

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The Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration plans to allocate $1 billion in pandemic recovery funds to create or expand “regional industry clusters,” with a focus on technology development. Meanwhile, Congress is considering legislation to formally establish a regional innovation program of a similar scale within the department.

What I'm looking forward to!

• Kate Darling's talk 'The New Breed' August 10

• World of Drones and Robots August 18-19

• The Built Worlds Summit on Sept 4

• Avatar XPrize Semifinals in Sept

• WeRobot Conference in Sept

• DARPA SubT Challenge Finals in Sept

• IROS 2021 in Sept/Oct

• The ARM Dev Summit in Oct

• AAAI's AI for HRI in Nov

• AMT's MFG Meeting and MTForecast Conference in Nov

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Lot's of interesting self-driving vehicle news this week, on top of a good fundraising month for robotics. Most interesting is Prof Robin Murphy's insights into how robots were used in the Surfside Condo collapse and what are the next possibilities.

• How Robots Helped Out After the Surfside Condo Collapse

• Corvus Robotics’ Autonomous Drones Tackle Warehouses

• Why Silicon Valley’s Many Asian Americans Still Feel Like a Minority

• John Deere Doubles Down on Silicon Valley and Robots

• John Deere redoubles his efforts on Silicon Valley and robots

• Robot Waiters Have Descended on Silicon Valley

• Phantom Auto appoints robotics veteran Tom Kaminski as CTO

• Why every robot needs a spiffy hat | Engadget

• Eve L. Ewing Adds a Dash of Black Girl Magic to STEM-Based Learning

• How William Shockley’s Robot Dream Helped Launch Silicon Valley

• NSF partnerships expand National AI Research Institutes to 40 states

• Will artificial intelligence help autonomous cars make life or death decisions?

• Mars Ingenuity helicopter successfully completes 11th flight

• Arrival Delivery Van Shows Off Autonomous Skills

• Watch GE’s risk-aware autonomous robot navigate through woods

• Apple Expands Fleet of Self-Driving Cars

• Maven's CEO Geller Maps Automomous Trucking Timeline

• California's first AV public passenger service could provide key industry and market data

• Argo AI will now provide free rides in California in its autonomous vehicles

• How Ground Positioning Radar Could Help Self-Driving Cars 'See' Better

• Forget Autonomous Cars—Autonomous Ships Are Almost Here

• Baidu Launches its Apolong II Self-Driving Minibus in China with No Steering Wheel or Pedals for its 'Apollo Go' Ride-Hailing Service

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As seen in the NY Times :)

From award-winning author Eve L. Ewing comes an illustrated middle grade novel about a forgotten homemade robot who comes to life just when aspiring fifth-grade scientist Maya needs a friend -- and a science fair project.